1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to fishing lures and more specifically to a trolling system designed primarily for catching walleye.
2. Description of the Related Art
A wide variety of factors effect whether or not a fisherman will get a strike. Generally, the color and/or reflectivity of the lure play(s) a significant role in catching the fish""s attention. Various motions, such as spinning or weaving, churn the water and create the illusion of a small living organism swimming by, attracting the fish to investigate. Bait on the hook, be it a minnow, nightcrawler, or leech is often used to provide the final enticement to get the strike.
When fishing for a particular type of fish, all of the above listed factors must be considered and experimented with until the best combination for attracting the fish and getting the strike is found. In addition, when trolling for fish, the fisherman must have a good idea of the proper speed and the depth to troll to find the desired species of fish.
One popular species of game fish is the walleye. Found in lakes and rivers in over 40 states, the walleye, or walleyed pike, is the target fish of hundreds of tournaments annually and the subject of numerous books and thousands of articles in fishing magazines and on websites online. The walleye can be a xe2x80x9cfinicky fish.xe2x80x9d It is only by testing and tinkering with different lure arrangements that a fisherman can narrow in on a successful presentation for catching walleye.
It is well known to those skilled in the art of fishing that there are many different methods of fishing, from still fishing in a slow moving or still pond of water, to deep sea fishing from a boat moving at relatively high speed. The type of fishing rig or tackle used for one type of fishing may or may not be appropriate for another type of fishing. Small differences in blade size, shape, and position on the leader line can have a great effect on the efficacy of the rig for the fishing method used and on the reaction of the target fish. Fishermen are constantly experimenting to find the best combination of rig, lure, bait, and leader for the fishing method used and the target game fish.
The present invention provides a unique presentation designed specifically for trolling for walleye that the inventors have found proven to be successful for this purpose, though it may be used to catch other fish as well.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,412,901, issued May 9, 1995 to G. S. Martinez describes a lure with a stainless steel leader, a deformable body mad from lead, a spinner, several beads and a hook. The shape of the lead body may be adjusted by hand to change the movement of the lure through the water. All of the elements of the lure are closely aligned at the far end of the leader line. The Martinez lure lacks a spoon or similar blade mounted between barrel swivels.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,327,670, issued Jul. 12, 1994 to R. D. Tallerico describes a lure with multiple dull and non-reflective blades (which may be spoon or spinner blades) which are all attached to a multiple strand stainless steel leader line by clevises, with beads being attached between the spinners. No particular hook is shown. All of the attractive lure elements are grouped together on the leader line. The patent teaches against reflective lures as unattractive to fish and is intended to appear more as a school of small fish, thereby attracting larger fish.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,750,325, issued Aug. 7, 1973 to J. M. Feltman describes a lure with unique body shaped like a teardrop with a top fin and bottom keel mounted on a rigid shaft, followed by a plurality of beads and a hook, so that the shaft teardrop body, beads and hook to not rotate relative to each other, a spinner blade mounted on a clevis which is rotatable around the shaft and bears against the beads, and a wire strut extending from the shaft at a fixed angle and trailing a second spinner rotatable on a spinner link above the teardrop shaped body. The Feltman lure is designed to exhibit two different motions depending upon the speed at which it is drawn through the water, and is particularly advantageous when drawn near a land mass bottom, such as the reefs proximate islands in the Great Lakes.
Other patents showing fishing lures include U.S. Pat. No. 2,911,753, issued Nov. 10, 1959 to D. E. Beckett (a night crawler harness comprised of a plurality of hooks secured in a spaced axial alignment from a continuous leader); U.S. Pat. No. 2,610,429, issued Sep. 16, 1952 to O. J. Thomas (lure with a plurality of spinners mounted reversely so that they rotate in opposite directions); U.S. Des. Pat. No. 418,574, issued Jan. 4, 2000 to A. D. Rowh (ornamental design for a lure having a sinker end, two spinners, several beads and a hook); U.S. Pat. No. 3,604,140 issued Sep. 14, 1971 to D. W. Nelson (lure with multiple spinner or flasher blades mounted on a common sleeve rotatable on a shaft so that all blades rotate in unison).
None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed. Thus a trolling system solving the aforementioned problems is desired.
The trolling system of the present invention is a fishing rig particularly adapted for catching walleye. The trolling system has an elongated leader line made from stranded stainless steel wire coated with nylon. The rig has an overall length of about forty-six inches, and includes an eyelet for attachment to a fishing line, a spoon-type blade mounted axially between barrel swivels about twenty-four inches from the eye, a spinner mounted on a clevis below the spoon, and a nightcrawler harness having two spaced apart hooks below the spinner. The rig includes colored beads above the spoon and abutting the spinner clevis. The trolling system is both strong and tangle-free.
A sinker or other weight may be added to the trolling system to weight the rig to the desired depth. The spaced apart double hook nightcrawler harness allows for secure attachment of live bait. Whereas conventional trolling rigs only permit maximum speeds of about 0.8-1.2 mph with live nightcrawler bait, the present system permits speeds of 2.0-2.8 mph, preferably about 2.2-2.4 mph without losing the bait and without tangling the line. The walleye or other fish, e.g., northern pike, are attracted by the color of the beads, movement of the spoon and the spinner, and when they get close enough, can""t resist the live nightcrawler. The line is stronger than conventional monofilament leader lines, so that there is less danger that the walleye can break the line.
Accordingly, it is a principal object of the invention to provide a trolling system for catching walleye, northern pike, and other similar fish.
It is another object of the invention to provide a trolling system that can be used for trolling with nightcrawler bait at higher speeds than conventional trolling rigs.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a trolling system that employs a leader line that it stronger and less susceptible to tangling than conventional trolling rigs in order to permit trolling at higher speeds.
Still another object of the invention is to provide a trolling system that uses a combination of color, reflective lures, and movement to attract fish to a nightcrawler bait that the fish cannot resist.
It is an object of the invention to provide improved elements and arrangements thereof for the purposes described which is inexpensive, dependable and fully effective in accomplishing its intended purposes.
These and other objects of the present invention will become readily apparent upon further review of the following specification and drawings.